Professor Judith Petts CBE, the Vice Chancellor of Plymouth University, recently visited Applegate, accompanied by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Julian Chaudhuri.
They met members of Applegate’s Workplace Degree Programme, who are studying for the BSc in Management and Business whilst gaining practical experience through work in different parts of the company. They will also qualify as Chartered Managers and Members of the Chartered Institute of Management.
During Professor Judith Petts and Professor Julian Chaudhuri visit to Applegate, the 6 Workplace Degree students had the opportunity to discuss how Degree Apprentices could be more involved with Plymouth University going forward, whether this was the social side of things or access to the education facilities. Lectures take place at Petroc College’s University Centre in Barnstaple, where lecturers teach the Plymouth University syllabus at a location convenient for the students to access. Students are able to study and move to Plymouth University in their last year, allowing them to gain the University experience and lifestyle.
Nationally, there are only two thousand degree apprentices at present, but with clear benefits both for the students (avoiding debt and gaining real applied experience) and for employers (access to excellent, motivated recruits) there should be potential for this model to make up a much greater proportion of higher education provision in future.